Akon, who dominated radio in the mid-2000s with hits like “Lonely,” “Smack That” and “Don’t Matter,” has his first hit in minute with the track “Akon’s Beautiful Day.” But in the world of pop music, a few years is forever, so a lot of people who are currently enjoying the song actually think he’s a new artist.
“I love it, because that’s the point,” Akon tells ABC Audio. “I really wanted to come back new, fresh, with a brand-new audience … brand-new everything, man. So I think that the fact that I came back and a lot of people thought I’m a brand-new artist is actually amazing. I love that.”
But it’s not just people who aren’t familiar who are enjoying the song: Akon says his OG fans have welcomed him back with open arms.
“I get so much, man, like, ‘We missed you. Thank you so much for coming back with positive, amazing records that gave us this nostalgic experience that takes us back to our happy moments,"” he says. “I get a lot of those … that makes me feel really good.”
And speaking of a nostalgic experience, at one point in the song, Akon sings, “I pulled a Akon/ she let me smack that,” calling back to his 2006 smash hit. He says that’s just one example of what you’ll hear on his upcoming project, Not Guilty, due out in February.
“I got these metaphorical things all throughout the album,” he says. “Throughout all the songs … I kind of reference myself as a metaphor. I just feel like it was one of those funny things that I just wanted to actually do.”
While we wait for that, Akon just released a new remix of “Beautiful Day” with David Guetta and Hypaton.
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